What is Visual Effects (VFX)

Humans have been using different forms of communication to express ideas, visions, and thoughts and to tell stories since the beginning of time. To convey these thoughts to the general audience in a manner they understood and felt entertained by it, another medium was invented films. Several decades later, the film industry remains as one of the most popular entertainment media.

Every movie out there wants to scream out it’s story to us. Many times, conveying these stories is a complex task. You cannot make the viewer experience everything to it’s full potential. Sometimes there is a lack of imagination in the viewer’s part or a lack of proper technology from the director’s part. However, in this day and age this problem has been solved due to the rise in VFX or Visual Effects used in the movies.

Why is VFX so Important?

VFX, simply said, are special effects used to give depth to the visual representation of the story and have been used in films in one form or the other almost since the first movies were made. Since that time visual effects have been used frequently and not just for special effects. Some movies used matte paintings to add ceilings that were non-existent on the sets. Visual effects have continued to evolve to provide sights not viable to actually film.

With the advent of digital and computer graphics as tools for visual effects, artists are now able to have control over their images in a way not possible before. These are in addition to their toolbox of previous techniques including models and miniatures when desired. Almost all films coming out of Hollywood use visual effects to some extent and many independent films include visual effects. Keep in mind that visual effects are not just for science fiction and fantasy films. They can be used extensively in period films and even in present day comedies. Some examples of the movies where VFX has been used quite extensively are:

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Kick

Pirates of the Caribbean

“Seeing is believing”, and making things believable is no easy task. Making seamless and photo realistic renders is the most sought after objective for VFX artists.

How are VFX made?

Adding Visual Effects is not a one man job. It requires quite a lot of smaller milestones that need to be achieved first. Treating a video is a procedure. Different companies have varied procedures depending on the size and number of shots to be completed and also the number of people involved.

Matchmove, Rotoscoping, Modeling, Animation, Lighting/Rendering, Compositing are some of the steps involved while adding VFX. One need not know each and every step completely but can rather have a specialisation for and one or two of these.

Where can I study VFX?

SeamEdu School of Pro-Expressionism offers Bachelors of Fine Arts (Visual Effects & Animation for Film & TV) degree for those who have completed their 12th grade from any stream. SeamEdu has set its mark as one of the top animation institutes in India. Toolbox, which is an in-house animation studio, is regarded as the best in Pune. The course duration is 4 years and includes but is not limited to the following: